Mobile & manufactured home guides
General, plain-language overviews of the concepts that come up around mobile and manufactured housing. These explain how things generally work — for a specific situation, consider consulting a licensed attorney in your state.
Asking your park for a payment plan
If you're behind on lot rent, a written payment plan can sometimes stop an eviction before it starts. Here's how these arrangements generally work, what to put in writing, and what to watch for.
Behind on lot rent vs. your home loan
In a mobile home park you can owe two very different creditors — the park (for lot rent) and your lender (for the home loan). They run on separate tracks with separate consequences. Here's how to tell them apart and why it matters.
Behind on your home loan: options
If you're falling behind on a manufactured home loan, 'loss mitigation' is the umbrella term for the alternatives to repossession — repayment plans, deferrals, modifications. Here's how to ask, and what to have ready.
'Cash for your home' distress traps
When you're behind and stressed, 'we'll buy your mobile home for cash today' offers and sale-leaseback pitches can look like a lifeline. Some are fair; many are lowball or predatory. Here's how to tell the difference.
Co-op vs. corporate mobile home parks
A plain-language comparison of resident-owned cooperative communities and investor-owned (corporate) manufactured home parks — how ownership, rent, decision-making, and resident rights tend to differ.
Converting a mobile home title to real property
Converting a manufactured home from personal property to real property can unlock mortgage financing and change how the home is taxed and sold. Here's the general process and what it requires.
FHA, VA & USDA manufactured home loans
Three federal loan programs — FHA, VA, and USDA — can help finance a manufactured home, sometimes at better terms than a typical chattel loan. Here's a general overview of what each offers and its basic conditions.
The first 48 hours after a notice
Getting a nonpayment or eviction notice is frightening, but the worst move is to freeze or walk away. Here's a calm, general triage for the first couple of days — what to read, what deadlines to find, and who to call.
Force-placed insurance on mobile homes
If a mobile or manufactured home owner's required insurance lapses, the lender can buy 'force-placed' coverage and charge for it — usually at a high price, protecting the lender, not the owner. Here's how it works and how to avoid it.
Help paying rent and lot rent
When rent or lot rent is more than you can cover, several programs and hotlines can help — 211, emergency rental assistance, and HUD-approved counselors. Here's where to actually go and what to ask.
How lot rent increases typically work
How and when a manufactured home community can raise lot rent — the role of the lease, common state notice rules, the handful of states with caps, and what residents can do when an increase arrives.
How private equity is changing mobile home parks
Large investors — including private-equity firms and institutional landlords — have been buying manufactured home communities. Here's a neutral overview of the trend, the concerns residents and advocates raise, and the tools residents have.
How to read a mobile home park lease
A general guide to the clauses that commonly appear in a manufactured home community lot lease — rent and fees, term and renewal, rules, utilities, sale, and termination — and what to look for in each.
Inheriting a manufactured home
Inheriting a manufactured home raises questions about title, any loan, lot rent, and the park lease. Here's a general overview of what an heir typically needs to sort out.
Insurance for manufactured homes
Manufactured homes are usually insured under specialized policies, not standard homeowners insurance. Here's what these policies tend to cover, how wind and flood risk factor in, and what to check before buying coverage.
Keeping your mobile home insured
When money is tight, insurance is tempting to drop — but a lapse can trigger costly 'force-placed' coverage or leave you exposed. Here's how to keep coverage affordable and what really happens if it lapses.
Mobile home land/home package deals
A land/home package bundles a manufactured home and the land it sits on into one purchase. Here's how these deals work, how they differ from buying a home for a rented lot, and what to check before signing.
LIHEAP: help paying utility bills
The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) helps eligible households pay heating and cooling bills, and sometimes handle an energy crisis or shutoff. Here's what it is and how to find your local program.
Manufactured home depreciation
Do manufactured homes lose value like cars, or gain value like houses? The answer depends largely on whether the home is personal property on a rented lot or real property on owned land — here's why.
Manufactured vs. mobile vs. modular homes
What separates a manufactured home, a mobile home, and a modular home — and why the federal HUD Code is the line that matters most.
Mobile home dealer fraud red flags
Buying a manufactured home should be straightforward, but some sales involve high-pressure tactics, hidden costs, and financing tricks. Here are common red flags to watch for and where to report problems.
Mobile home park pass-through fees
A pass-through fee is a charge a park passes on to residents — for property taxes, utilities, trash, or other costs — on top of lot rent. Here's how they work, when they're allowed, and what to check.
Mobile home park right of first refusal
Some states give manufactured home community residents notice — and a chance to buy — when the park owner decides to sell. Here's how opportunity-to-purchase and right-of-first-refusal laws generally work.
Mobile home repossession & deficiency
If a manufactured home loan goes into default, the lender may repossess the home — and in many states pursue a 'deficiency judgment' for the remaining balance. Here's how the process generally works.
Park closures & relocation assistance
When a mobile home park closes or converts, residents can face the costly problem of moving a home that may not be movable. Some states offer relocation-assistance funds. Here's the general picture and where to check.
Mobile home park rule changes
Mobile home community rules can change — but not always freely. Here's how rule changes typically work, the limits many states place on mid-lease changes, and what long-term residents can do when new rules arrive.
Property tax relief for manufactured homes
Many states offer ways to lower the property tax on a manufactured home — homestead exemptions, 'circuit breaker' credits, and deferrals for seniors, veterans, and low-income owners. Here's the general landscape and where to check.
Resident-owned communities explained
A resident-owned community (ROC) is a manufactured home park the residents buy and run as a cooperative. Here's how the model works, what it offers, what it requires, and how residents typically get there.
Selling vs. abandoning your home
When you can't afford to stay, walking away from the home can feel easiest — but abandonment often costs more than selling. Here's how the two choices compare and why the difference matters.
Submetering: how parks bill utilities
Many manufactured home communities buy utilities in bulk and bill residents through submeters or allocation formulas. Here's how submetering works, what state rules commonly require, and what to watch for on a utility bill.
The HUD Code, briefly explained
The HUD Code is the federal construction and safety standard that defines a 'manufactured home.' Here's what it covers, when it took effect, and why it shapes how these homes are built, sited, and classified.
USDA Section 504 home repair help
For very-low-income owners in rural areas, USDA's Section 504 program offers low-interest repair loans — and grants for older homeowners — to fix health and safety problems. Here's the general picture and how to check eligibility.
Weatherization help for mobile homes
Older manufactured homes can be expensive to heat and cool. The federal Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) pays for energy-saving improvements for income-eligible households — often at no cost. Here's how it works.
What is a chattel loan on a mobile home?
A chattel loan finances a manufactured home as personal property rather than real estate. Here's how chattel loans differ from mortgages — in rate, term, and legal protections — and why the difference matters.
When a mobile home park owner sells
A change in community ownership can affect rent, rules, and stability. Here's what typically happens when a manufactured home park is sold, what notice residents may be entitled to, and what they can do.
Why manufactured homes appraise differently
Appraising a manufactured home isn't quite like appraising a site-built house. Here's why — the role of personal vs. real property, comparable sales, the HUD data plate, and the foundation — and how it affects financing.
Why mobile homes have titles, not deeds
Most manufactured homes start life as personal property with a certificate of title — like a vehicle — rather than real estate conveyed by deed. Here's why, and what it means for selling, financing, and taxes.
Your manufactured home in bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal tool some people use when debts become unmanageable, and how it treats a manufactured home depends on whether the home is personal or real property. Here's a general, plain-language overview.